The Power of the Water Dragons: Astrological Influences on Dreams
In the Chinese zodiac, every year corresponds to both an animal and an elemental energy. There are twelve animals (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, boar) and five elements (water, wood, fire, earth and metal). This year on January 23, 2012, we entered the year of the Water Dragon.
Astrological influences on dreams
As a dreamer, I have been trained by indigenous elders to observe how the solar, lunar and planetary cycles affect my dream state. For example, many of us are aware of how a full moon can influence our dreams. In general, dreaming tends to be enhanced around the full moon, and full moon dreams tend to be more vivid and intense.
In addition, the position of the moon in the zodiac can also influence the dream state. For example, I have noticed that my most intense sexual dreams occur when the moon is in Scorpio. Sex and reproductive energy are both ruled by Scorpio, as well as mysteries, secrets, the occult and death.
In many indigenous calendar systems, including those of the Maya, the Mexica and the Hopi, this year of 2012 is prophesized to be very powerful and transformative. As we move into 2012, and experience the influence of the Water Dragon, I have already begun to notice how dragon energy is appearing in people’s dreams.
Energetic Manifestation of the Water Dragon
According to Asian tradition, dragons symbolized power, good fortune and creativity. In his recent Chinese Astrology forecast, Taoist master Liu Ming described that the energy of this Water Dragon year will feel like a tidal wave. The year will have the powerful qualities of the dragon, but with a watery twist.
I am curious about how the Water Dragon will manifest energetically in dreams, as well in waking life. I have already observed that the dragon energy can manifest in dreams without an actual dragon appearing in the dream itself.
For example, a few nights before the Chinese New Year I had this dream:
I am with my friends Heidi and Marcela. We are walking on a hilly path that looks like the landscape of Maui.
Unexpectedly, the path turns into a slide and we start descending downhill quickly. But then, we are moving like a rollercoaster, up and down, faster and faster. It feels both exhilarating and intense
Suddenly, the path dumps us into the ocean. We are now underwater, in a long clear glass tube. I can see fish and huge sea creatures on either side of me, but we are moving too fast to identify anything. I think I see a shark, but everything is blurry.
Abruptly, we are catapulted out of the tube and land back on shore. “What a fun and wild ride!” I think to myself.
About a week after having this dream, I met with my friend Heidi who had attended the Chinese Astrology forecast for the year of the Water Dragon with Liu Ming.
When Heidi described to me the energy of this year, I immediately thought of my dream. The energy in the dream was big, fast, intense, watery, exciting— all qualities of a water dragon year. The energy in the dream moved in wave-like undulations, just as if we had been riding on an invisible dragon.
Heidi, Marcela and I started a non-profit organization five years ago called Circle of Ancestors. As a non-profit we have grown very slowly over the years. However, if this dream is correct, 2012 may be a very expansive year for our organization!
Emotional Manifestations of the Water Dragon
This past week, I have observed another characteristic of the Water Dragon energy that has manifested in people’s dream states. On Sunday night, my partner had an intense dream in which she woke up sobbing. The dream is too personal to relate here, but what struck me was the raw emotion of grief that was released through her dream.
A few days later I was meeting with my dream buddy Erin. As we shared our dreams, I mentioned my partner’s dream experience. Synchronistically, Erin shared that a few days ago she also had a powerful dream in which she woke up crying. She wept as well as the wrote the dream down.
That same day, I got home and received an email from a student of mine telling me about last night’s dream. She wrote: “I had a crazy vivid dream about Oscar Grant.* I was crying so hard in the dream and woke up crying.”
These three emotionally intense dreams all happened within days of each other. From a perspective of indigenous science, three is an important number when gathering spiritual data. When a pattern, message, or symbol repeats three times, this is called triangulation.
As someone who hears a lot of people’s dreams, I can say that dreams that wake people up crying are infrequent, and it is even more unusual that it would happen to three people that I know in one week.
In indigenous science, we are trained to observe and interpret the language of the universe. “All the universe is intelligent and alive,” says my mentor Dr. Apela Colorado. Dreams carry messages from the universe and common themes in dreams are important to observe.
My interpretation of these three dreams is that they relate to the energy of the Water Dragon. The emotional intensity of these dreams reminds me of the intensity of the water dragon, the “big tidal wave of energy.”
Also, water often symbolizes emotions. Sadness and grief, which release the body’s own water in the form of tears, are the most watery of the emotions.
So, as we move boldly into this big Water Dragon year of 2012, I suggest that we all notice how this particular cosmic energy is influencing our dreams.
Take note of dream themes of water, floods, tidal waves, or dreams which seem emotionally or energetically big and intense.
As the year unfolds, we will most likely observe many more Water Dragon themes in the dream collective.
How is the Water Dragon manifesting in your dreams?
How does the energy of the Water Dragon change as we progress through the cycles and seasons of this year?
I had this dream last night about a green/yellow water dragon with a long skinny neck a plume on his head and a fat body in a small lake with almost black water, it seemed that there were dead fish in this lake.. i was in this lake with a bunch of people i guess i knew, we saw the dragon and everyone freaked out, one man started panicing and i had to swim back to the far shore where we all came from in the fire mans hold while whispering reassuring words in his ear.
i then saw a black rhino in the shallow water of the lake to the left side of the far shore. the dragon was in the middle I was facinated by the dragon and swam back out to him and he trusted me i felt an odd presense of comfort.i wont go into great detail about in between the next section of this dream, as it is still a little foggy.
so i was headed back towards the lake through a wooded area, in one little patch lying in a spot with long grass he was on the left side off the path, was the black rhino, i then went back to where i came from, again a little foggy. then i returned with a boy of about 11 or 12 and he was going to do some fishing while i suntanned on the shore of the lake. while we were walking i noticed the rhino was gone. further down the tree lined path were 4 dark colored dark haired men lying in a clearing. so we backtracked and went into a freshly made path where i then realized they were wroking since i saw throughout the path freshly cut tree stumps appx. 7 inches wide and about 3 -4 inches above the ground. then again i saw some men sitting taking their lunch. we continued to the beach on the lake. I once again saw the dragon. He swam to me and we spoke to one another. I told him i was sunbathing. he then came out of the water and took me down a path that led to the original one and further in was a small flat roofed cabin. in this cabin we went into the back room of the house and after talking to and holding each other he nuzzled my neck. then a little foggy on the happenings but we were still in the same room sitting together and i said i wanted to make love to him. he said he couldnt penetrate me but we still had foreplay. then shortly after that he penetrated me and we then made love. We heard a noise and hid in a small closet but the realized the person (the room was a laundry room i realized at that point), and went into another smaller room that was apparently where the person whom i thought in the dream was my grandmother (died about 4 years ago, we were very close) when she came into the laundry room the dragon stepped out… then i came out the dragon transformed into a man and my grandma said the power of my love transformed him. i woke up then. i have been looking for meanings but there are so many it is very confusing. can you please help me interpret this dream.
Lynn,
That is a very, very powerful dream. Thanks for sharing. It sounds like the water dragon may be a powerful ally of yours. If you’d like to go deeper into this dream I am available for individual dream consultations, either by phone, email or Skype.
Dreams have many dimensions & layers of interpretation. My feeling is that this is a healing dream for you (perhaps about sexuality, relationships to male energy, ancestors).
If it were my dream, the dream could also be about coming into your power. Often dreams of making love to someone or something can symbolize union/integration with that energy.
I would suggest that you journal and write all your associations with the water dragon and any other key elements of this dream (the black rhino).
You might also want to re-enter the dream in meditation. If you worked with me, that is something I could help guide you with.
Good luck and thanks for sharing!
Atava
Last night it rained a lot and I had a intense and vivid dream. I was in a cabin in the middle of the ocean and the waves started getting bigger and bigger. Eventually a giant dragon like figure started to swim at us from a tidal wave. I want to defend myself but I all had was a water gun. (silly I know) Eventually the dragon came really close and I got a good look at him as he took my friend along. Although I don’t believe in spiritual energy or anything like that I’ve never been moved by a dream as much as I did last night.
Enju,
Thanks for sharing your dream. It is so rich in the symbolism I was writing about: the water dragon, a tidal wave. Also, the vivid & intense energy you described also fits the water dragon theme.
If it were my dream, it might symbolize big energy & movement in my life, perhaps around my deep emotional life (represented by the ocean.) You might want to think about the friend who appeared in your dream & what they symbolize to you. That might give you some clues about which areas in your life might be transformed by the water dragon energy.
Do you know your Chinese astrology sign?
Since this was a powerful dream for you, you may want to take some time to write about it, meditate on it, talk about it with a close friend. I find that big dreams like this take time to unfold in their meaning.
Good luck!
Atava
Your article really interested me because earlier tonight i had a dream about dragons too. It affected me so much that i tried to search for the dream interpretation of it, when i came across your website.
Can you give me some insight into my dream’s meaning?
My 2 blue dragons dream:
Just before the appearance of the dragons i have an intimate dream of two beautiful naked women in a field caressing each other like lovers. Then the scene changes and i see two huge pale blue chinese dragons. They were massive and their bodies were long and serpentine. Upon closer inspection i saw that their bodies were made from water. I felt afraid and tried to run away from them as i felt a gigantic sense of power coming from them like a tsunami, and i was afraid they would hurt or crush me with their bodies made of water. I run away from them and try to hide but one of them eventually finds me. I felt fear as it brought it’s great head closer to mine and then i woke up.
Jayne,
Thanks for sharing your water dragon dreams. They keep on coming as the year progresses!
On a most simple level of interpretation, your dream could be tapping into the powerful energy of this year. If it were my dream I would examine my relationship to power, emotions, sexuality, and the divine feminine. For a more personal interpretation, I think you would benefit from some individual dream work on this dream, which is something I am available to do by phone or Skype.
Blessed Dreaming!
Atava
Last night I had a dream I was in a very rural place, probably china, near water and mountains. I was one of the people who lived in the town. Daily we had to go into the waters and swim to look for and guide the water dragons that lived in the waters. It was said that several dragons lived in the waters as much as 7. I had seen one that was blue and greenish. I was not very sure of what the exact situation or story was, but it seems as though the water dragons were not free and were contained between the mountain and the lake, and there was some unfulfilled purpose to all of this. When it was one of my times to swim I encountered one under water and its face changed and blossomed into different colors that I did not expect, red and white. We did not fear each other but I was in shock and amazement, it went along its way peacefully. This is all I can remember, it is my first dream with water dragons. It was amazing, and I am thankful.
Joshua,
Thank you for sharing your powerful dream! It is exciting to me to hear the water dragon dreams that keep emerging as the year progresses. I think we all have something to learn from these powerful symbols of this year.
You might want to read some of the water dragon dreams that have been posted, as there are some common themes and symbolism. In this way, each dream can add a piece to the puzzle.
Blessed dreaming,
Atava
About a week ago I dreamed of seeing a water dragon named Gamboni swimming in what looked like the SF Bay. It was night. As I watched the dragon, I noticed something much larger emerging from the water…it was a giant green blob monster that ate the dragon!
I googled gamboni in the morning, looking for clues on the unusual name and found it is a kind of mushroom. Wikipedia says there is not a specific gamboni mushroom, although there are several other sites that claim there is…
But when I poked further into Wikipedia, I found the gambosa mushroom, which is also called St. George’s mushroom. In the legend, St. George battles and kills a water dragon. I found the synchronicity very interesting!